Shoe sewing machines



p 18, 956 J. P. CARTER SHOE SEWING MACHINES Filed April 15. 1954 r e C m C P a m J I I J United States Patent SHOE SEWING MACHINES James P. Carter, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, 'N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application April 15, 1954, Serial No. 423,310 Claims. (Cl. 112-46) The present invention relates to shoe inseam sewing machines of the curved hook needle type, an example of which is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,920,998, granted August 8, 1933, and No. 2,041,945, granted May 26, 193 6, both in the name of A. R. Morrill, and more particularly to improvements in guides employed in such machines for directing a welt against the marginal portions of a shoe, upper lasted over an insole. The Welt guides of the illustrated machine are primarily intended for use in directing the margin along one edge of a welt into the sewing point of a shoe inseam sewing machine with the main extent of the widthwise dimension on the welt and its other edge projecting beyond the inseam at the opposite side from the shoe insole in an inverted or reverse manner. Certain features of the invention, however, are of more general utility and are applicable to machines intended to operate in a conventional manner in which the main body of the welt projects from the inseam at the same side of the inseam with the upper to form an acute angle crevice with the upper.

In shoe inseam sewing machines prior to that of the patents referred to, a thread measuring finger is provided for swinging movement substantially parallel to and at the side with the completed stitches of a plane defined by the curvature of the curved needle to which the shoe is presented bottom side up and the thread finger moves at right angles across the line of stitches and above a welt being sewn to the shoe. In sewing an inverted or reverse welt the main extent of its widthwise dimension projects so far above the inseam that interference with the thread finger frequently occurs. With a thread finger mounted for swinging movement at the side of the needle plane interference between the thread finger and the welt merely bends the welt widthwise downwardly with an inclination toward the center of the insole, the welt already having been made fast to the insole by the stitches along the portion engaged by the thread finger. For this reason machines prior to that of the patents referred to have been arranged to sew inverted or reverse welts effectively when led into the sewing point with the main extents of their widthwise dimensions inclined at an acute angle to the shoe bottom.

In the machine of the prior patents the stitch forming devices include a curved hook needle, a needle threading looper and a thread finger mounted for movement along the line of feed in which the inseam is formed rather than across it and the thread finger is so arranged that its thread drawing movement intersects the plane defined by the needle curvature at right angles and in a direction opposite to the feed of the work. The advantage of such arrangement is that the proper length of thread will always be measured from the supply by the thread finger regardless of variations in length of stitch either through prior adjustment of the feeding mechanism by momentary manipulation of the shoe by the operator or from any other reason. Thus, tension in each completed Stitch regardless of stitch length is maintained more nearly uniform than with machines prior to the patented one.

In arranging the thread finger for swinging movement which intersects the needle plane the space available within the arcuate path of the needle is somewhat restricted with the result that when an inverted or reverse welt led in the usual manner is to be sewn, interference ordinarily occurs between the projecting edge portion of the welt and the thread finger to such extent that proper sewing operations are seriously impeded. Accordingly,- sewing an inverted or reverse welt in the machine of the prior patents referred to has heretofore been considered impractical.

An object ofthe present invention is to provide a shoe inseam sewing machine having a thread finger mounted for swinging movement across the plane defined by a curved hook needle, with a weltguide by which an inverted or reverse welt may be sewn to a shoe effectively in spite of the manner of mounting for the thread finger and with even greater facility than in prior machines, the machine equipped with the present improved guide being capable of accommodating an inverted welt of greater width than has heretofore been sewn on a welt sewing machine of the type employed prior to the patented one.

Other objects are to improve the construction and simplify'the manner of adjustment for welt guides employed in shoe inseam sewing machines and to insure accurate direction of a welt to the sewing point of such machines Without imposing undue frictional resistance on the welt.

In the accomplishment of the above noted objects the present machine is of the type above referred to, having a thread finger mounted for movement along the line of the inseam within the arcuate path of the needle so that it intersects the plane of needle curvature, as in the patented machine, and the present machine is equipped with a welt guidearranged to lead the welt in an inverted manner against the marginal portion of the upper, with the main extent of its width-wise dimension projecting from the insole at right angles and inside the needle path between the needle and the thread finger excepting a partof the guide which extends beyond the plane of the needle which engages the welt outside the needle path only. The patented machine employs a U-shaped sheet metal welt confining shield of curved or abruptly bent cross section secured at its spaced ends to a mounting block close to or intersecting the plane of needle curvature at the rear of the needle path and an edge gage adjustable between the spaced ends of the shield holds the welt accurately in a position with the main extent of its widthwise dimension inclined in the usual way toward the insole. The only use to which the prior edge gage can. be put, however, is to cause the edges of a reverse welt to be guided closely in the shield, no adjustment or anything more than slight variation in width of the welt being possible because the curvature of the shield is such that the needle passes through the welt close to its point of greatest curvature, which isalso close to the edge gage. Thus, variations in welt width affect principally the length of the shield between its point of greatest curvature and its closed end. A diiferent shield having a corresponding dimension between its point of greatest curvature and its closed end, accordingly, must be used for each different width of reverse welt. The illustrated machine, however, is equipped with a U-shaped guide piece which provides a confining slot of straight cross section spaced a substantial distance in advance of the sewing point rather than at a position intersecting the plane of needle curvature with a projection from the guide piece extending much closer to the point of needle operation than in prior machines but outside the arc of needle curvature only; To resist the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pulled against the welt guide by the retracting threaded needle, the U-shaped piece and its projection confine the welt along the edge outside the needle path at a location out of the range of movement of the thread finger and support the welt against forces imparted by the pull of the threaded needle as it retracts so that there is no opportunity for the welt to interfere with the thread finger or otherwise to be impeded in its movements through the guide. Preferably a combined thickness gage and edge gage also is provided in the welt guide, having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation of the welt from the projection on the U-piece either widthwise or thicknesswise. An unexpected advantage derived from this feature of the invention resides in the provision of an adjustable welt guide for a reverse welt shoe sewing machine, which is capable of being adapted for use with a wide range of welt widths without replacement or relocation of the guide on the machine for each welt of different width.

These and other features of the invention consisting of certain combinations and arrangements of parts, hereinafter described and claimed, will clearly be understood from the following detailed description taken in connec tion with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in left side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of a shoe inseam sewing machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view on an enlarged scale looking from the left front of the machine shown in Fig. 1, illustrating its manner of operation on a shoe;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of an improved welt guide employed in the machine shown with the parts in separated relationship, looking at the parts in the same direction as that from which Fig. 2 is taken; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view in front elevation of the needle, thread finger and welt guide of the present invention.

The illustrated machine is substantially the same in construction and mode of operation as that disclosed in Patent No. 2,041,945 above-identified. The machine is a shoe inseam sewing machine which is arranged to direct a welt 4 into line with an inseam connecting an insole 6 with the overlasted margin of a shoe upper 8, one edge of the welt being secured by the inseam and the other edge being free and projecting beyond the seam line and the upper at approximately right angles to the insole at the opposite side of the inseam line from the insole. In order to sew the inseam in this manner it is necessary to direct the margin along that edge of the welt which is to be secured by the inseam accurately into line with the point of needle operation and the other edge entirely out of the range of the other stitch forming devices.

As in the inseam sewing machine of the prior patents, the stitch forming devices of the present machine include a curved hook needle 10 mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path and arranged to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe lasted over an insole, a curved awl 12, a needle threading looper 14 acting to lay the thread in the hook of the needle, and a thread finger 16, mounted for swinging movement along the line of the inseam to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, so that during retracting movement of the threaded needle sufiicient thread will be available to avoid sliding movement of the thread in the needle hook. Th thread finger is in the form of an arm secured to a stem 17 mounted for rotation in a carrier, described more fully in the patents referred to.

To guide and support the shoe during operation of the stitch forming devices, the illustrated machine is provided with the usual channel guide 18 acting to clamp the shoe against a back rest 20 and a forward facing shoe engaging surface on a welt guide to be described, the channel guide and welt guide being mounted for movement away from the shoe during work feed and acting to grip the shoe during formation of each stitch, and particularly while the threaded needle is being retracted from the shoe. The stitch forming and shoe supporting devices are actuated by mechanisms more fully described in the patents and are driven by a main sewing shaft 21.

As in the machine of the patents the thread finger 16 of the present machine moves during formation of each stitch at right angles to and intersects a plane 22 shown by the dot-dash line of Fig. 4, which plane is defined by the curvature of the needle. The thread engaging end of the thread finger is located within the arcuate path,

7 indicated at 23 and shown by the dot-dash line of Fig. 2,

the path 23 being that taken by the needle during its work penetrating and retracting movements. The movement of the thread finger as it measures thread is in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed so that the amount of thread measured by the thread finger between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper is proportioned in a direct relation to the feeding movement of the shoe. The tension on the thread during shoe feeding movement is relatively light so that it does not impede the feed. At the time each stitch is drawn against the welt and set the tension on the thread is greatly increased, however, so that unless the proper amount of thread is available while a stitch is being set nonuniform results are obtained. Where the thread is measured in proportion to the feeding movement of the shoe greater uniformity in stitch setting tension results even though there is substantial variation in the amount of feed from one sewing cycle to another. In order to provide a swinging thread finger which will move in the direction of feed to measure the thread it is desirable to mount it within the arcuate path 23 taken by the needle, the thread engaging end of the thread finger crossing the plane 22 at approximately right angles so that there is less space directly within the path and at the side of the needle plane in advance of the needle for the welt guide than is available in machines having a thread finger moving parallel to the needle plane at that side only with the completed stitches. For this reason the space in advance of and close to the needle plane ordinarily occupied by an inverted or reverse welt guide is extremely restricted and especially so when an inverted welt is directed into the inseam in the usual way with its main body inclined at an acute angle and belt toward the center of the insole.

In the machine of the present invention the welt guide is located within the arcuate path of needle movement and spaced at the right side only of the needle plane sufficiently in advance of the point of needle operation to direct the upper marginal portion of the welt into a positioned with the main extent of its widthwise dimension substantially at right angles to the insole rather than as heretofore at an acute angle and belt toward the center of the insole, the present guide engaging the welt closer to the point of needle operation and beyond the needle plane only outside the arc of needle curvature and along the lower edge of the welt. With this arrangement of the welt guide ample clearance is provided for swinging movement of the thread finger in the direction of feed and in other respects sufficient space is available for adjusting the capacity of the welt guide to different sizes and styles of welt. Besides providing space for adjustments it is possible to lead the entire welt in a more nearly flat condition into the sewing point so that less frictional drag than heretofore is imparted to the welt by the guide and the welt is so positioned with relation to the shoe that in spite of the thread finger movements within the path of the needle it is possible to sew effectively in an inverted or reverse manner a welt which is wider than has been possible to sew in prior machines, the right angle position assumed by the welt contributing to proper passage ofthe needle and support of the welt against needle retraction. Also, with the right angle position of the welt it is possible to increase the clearance rease:

space for the thread finger without disturbing the location oi its thread engaging end, as will be described hereina ter.

In order to resist the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide by retraction of the threaded needle and to engage the lower edge of the welt closer to the point of needle operation while providing a construction enabling an adequate adjustment for different width-s of welt, the illustrated welt guide comprises an inverted U-shaped piece 24 having extending from it a lateral projection 25 pointed toward the needle but running outside its path 23. To enable adjustment for welts of different widths, the U-shaped piece 24 has a rearwardly projecting tongue 26 mounted Within a vertical guideway groove 28 of a laterally offset bracket 30 along which the U-shaped piece 24 is. slidaible vertically and parallel to the width of the welt in the U-shaped piece. For adjustably clamping the U-shaped piece to the mounting bracket, the bracket has a vertical slot 32 through which passes a screw 34 into threaded engagement with the U-piece 24. Movement of the U- piece along the groove 28 of the bracket brings the inner face of the U-piece into engagement with a welt of any width while maintaining the margin along the lower edge thereof uniformly in proper alin'ement with the point of needle operation.

For adjusting the guide for welts of varying thicknesses .and to prevent separation of the lower edge of the welt from the projection 25 during the work penetrating strokes of the needle and awl, the guide is equipped with a gage 36 in the form of a horizontal plate having a vertical flange 38 extending between the welt 4 and the. shoe being operated upon. The thickness gage is formed with a recess 40 in which the projection 25 of the U-shaped piece 24 fits, the projection having an inclined upper edge at one side and a vertical edge at the other side parallel to the inner edge ofthe recess 40. The horizontal portion of the thickness gage is slotted to receive a clamp bolt 42 and is provided with a downwardly projecting lug 44 for shifting its position horizontally.

To mount the bracket 30 and the thickness gage 36 the bolt 42 passes through a slot 45 in the shank on the bracket 30, a perforation in a block 46 located at the rear of the needle path 23 and the slot ofthe thickness gage 3'6. Beneath the thickness gage the bolt carries a clamp nut 48 and a Washer 50. The arrangement is such that the bolt, nut and washer for-m common clamping means for the bracket and the thickness gage on the mounting block 46.

To enable adjustment of the bracket and thickness gage and to insure that they are not readily displaced from proper operating positions on the block 46, the block has two channel shaped guideways 52 and 54 at right angles to that on the bracket. The guid'eways 52 and 54 fit lateral edges on the shank of the bracket and the thickness gage plate. When the clamp bolt is released both parts may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly along their guideways without otherwise disturbing the relationship of the parts. Ordinarily, with the welt guide clamped in properly adjusted positions it is necessary only to loosen the common clamp 42, 48 to adapt the guide for different sizes and styles of welt. When it is necessary, however, to change the position of the welt guide vertically with respect to the point of needle operation, the mounting block 46 may be swung about an integral pin 56 projecting from the right side thereof, which pin passes through a split socket in an angle block 58 secured to the forward end of a welt guide carrier 6!). Horizontal adjustment of the guide may also be made to bring the projection into close relation with the needle by sliding the pin 56 in the socket of the angle block. The welt guide carrier is pressed yieldingly forwardly to cause the welt guide to engage ,a shoe during shoe feeding movements and is locked 6 during the retracting movement of the threaded needle 10 by mechanism described more fully in the patents above referred to.

To secure the angle block 58 to the carrier 60, the block is formed with a tongue engaging a vertical groove in the forward end of the carrier and a clamp screw 62 passes through a slot in the angle block 58 into threaded engagement with the carrier. To prevent angular rota tion of the mounting block 46 about the split socket in the angle block, the socket is contracted against the pin '56 by a clamp bolt 64. By the manner of mounting thus described, the vertical position of the welt guide may be adjusted by loosening the clamp screw 62, its angular and horizontal positions adjusted by loosening the clamp bolt 64 and the guide other-wise adapted for use with different sizes and styles of welt without removing it from the machine. For these reasons it is possible to employ the same guide for sewing both regular and inverted welts. Also, once having adjusted the mounting of the guide for a particular style or size of welt the guide and its mounting may be removed as a unit from the machine by loosening the clamp screw 62. A different guide may thereafter be substituted which is adjusted for a different type of welt without disturbing the adjustment of the one removed. Accordingly, the pre viously removed guide may be replaced on the machine when it is desired again to sew the same type of shoe. The guide thus is readily adaptable for many uses and operations in a manner not found possible with prior guides, besides being adjustable for and capable of handling an inverted welt of greater width than heretofore consideredpossible for use with inseam sewing operations.

An important advantage of the present guide is experienced in leading an inverted or reverse welt into an inseam with the welt projecting widthwise therefrom at right angles to the insole. In this position the welt most easily assumes the correct relation to the inseam with little or no resistance being offered, the principal flexure of the welt being along the lengthwise dimension. Shoes constructed with inverted or reverse welts sewn at right angles to the insole are not only assembled more easily than when the welt is sewn in a position bent and inclined along its widthwise dimension toward the insole but actual-1y greater durability is obtained in a finished shoe than when the welts are sewn in an inclined position.

To increase the clearance for unusually wide welts, the carrier block for the thread finger 16 has been cut away along its lower surface, the stem 17 shortened and the arm of the thread finger bent downwardly. In this way the thread engaging end of the thread arm is retained in the same relation to the needle and looper as before.

The usual practice in adjusting a welt guide for use in a sewing machine involves the use of the trial and error method, the positions of the guide on the machine being shifted horizontally and vertically until the best results are obtained. Once having adjusted the welt guide to suit the type of work being operated upon, no further adjustments are required until the particular line of work being operated upon is completed. It is then usual for an operator to remove the guide, its mounting block and angle block bodily from the machine while preserving the adjustment for renewed use later. The old assembly of parts is then replaced on the machine with a new assembly and the new assembly carefully adjusted by the same trial and error method to suit the new type of work. Eventually a sufficient number of guide assemblies is adjusted to meet ordinary requirements for work done in a particular factory, each assembly being applied in turn to the machine without further adjustments.

It has been found that by providing a laterally offset bracket 30 and employing a guide having a lateral welt pressing projection, adequately spaced from the right side I I i 7 of the needle plane, then it is no longer necessary to replace an assembly of welt guide parts and to follow the trial and error method of adjusting each new guide assembly 'when a reverse welt is sewn, differing in width only from one sewn previously, the lateral offset on the bracket and the lateral projection on the guide piece enabling the use of readily accessible adjustments with adequate structural strength for practical usage. Accordingly, the offset in the bracket 30 is sufficient to afford space at the right side of the needle plane for adjustable tongue and groove parts of practical dimensions. Thus, different widths of welt may be accommodated without making any other adjustments or replacements of parts, the projection 25 of the guide being long enough to serve its purpose throughout the full range of required vertical adjustments.

Since the welt itself throughout its main widthwise extent is substantially vertical, adjusting movements of the U-shaped guide piece 24 do not disturb any other adjustment for the position of the guide, the adjustment for widthwise dimension being independent of the others. Such independent adjustment is not possible with the usual conventional guide in which the main widthwise extent of a reverse welt passes through the guide in a position inclined and curved or bent toward the insole. By providing a welt guide assembly which may be adjusted to accommodate changes in width of reverse welt without removing the assembly from the machine or without making replacements it is no longer necessary for an operator to have on hand so large a number of guide assemblies, including their angle blocks, properly adjusted for welts of different widths, nor is so much time required in adjusting different guide assemblies individually for different welt widths, a single assembly constructed according to the present invention serving for all welts of a wide range of widths without replacement.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle.

2. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle operating to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle and a needle threading looper, in combination with a reverse welt guide having a U-shaped piece located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed within the arcuate path of the needle and with the margin along its lower edge directed into alinement with the point of needle operation, a projection from the guide piece extending outside the needle path only, closer to the point of needle operation than the remainder of the guide piece to engage the lower edge of the welt beyond the plane of the needle, said U-shaped piece being provided with a screw and vertical slot adjustable mounting for enabling welts of a wide range of widths to be guided to the sewing point of the needle without replacing parts of the guide.

3. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle and a needle threading looper, in combination with a welt guide having a U-shaped piece located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed within the arcuate path of the needle and with the margin along its lower edge directed into alinement with the point of needle operation, a projection from the guide piece extending outside the needle path only, closer to the point of needle operation than the remainder of the guide piece to engage the lower edge of the welt beyond the plane of the needle, said U guide piece being provided with a screw and vertical slot adjustment for enabling welts of a wide range of widths to be guided to the point of needle operation without replacing parts of the guide and an offset bracket included in the screw and slot adjustment with its offset providing adequate space between the needle plane and the screw and slot adjustment for convenient access to the adjustment.

4. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle and a needle threading looper, in combination with a welt guide having a U-shaped piece located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed into the arcuate path of the needle and with the margin along its lower edge directed into alinement with the point of needle operation, a projection from the guide piece extending outside the needle path only, closer to the point of needle operation than the remainder of the guide to engage the lower edge of the welt beyond the plane of the needle, said U-shaped piece being provided with a vertical tongue and groove adjustment for enabling welts of a wide range of widths to be guided to the point of needle operation without replacing parts of the guide, an offset bracket included in the tongue and groove adjustment with its offset providing adequate space between the needle plane and the tongue and groove adjustment for convenient access to the adjustment, and a mounting block for the offset bracket located at the rear of the needle path.

5. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper, and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, said guide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed, and

said outside guide part being formed as a projection from the U-piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle.

6. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoeupper'lastedover an insole While being presented bottom side upto the needle, a needle threading looper, and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the Work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the Welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, said guide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed, said outside guide part being formed as a projection from the U-piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle, and a thickness gage having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation of the welt from the outside guide part.

7. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, said guide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed, said outside guide part being formed as a projection from the U-piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force of the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle, a thickness gage having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation of the welt from the outside guide part, and a bracket having a guideway running parallel to the width of the welt on which the U-piece is slidable to enable adjustment for welts of different widths.

8. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper, and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination With a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to err 'g'ageand lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, said guide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed, said outside guide part being formed as a projection from the U-piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle, a thickness gage having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation or" the Welt from the outside guide part, a bracket having a guideway running parallel to the Width of the welt on which the U-piece is slidable to enable adjustment for welts of different widths, and a mounting block having guideways at right angles to that on the bracket, in which latter guideways, respectively, the bracket and the thickness gage are slidable to enable adjustment of the bracket and the thickness gage relative to the mounting block.

9. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, said guide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed, said outside part being formed as a projection from the U- piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle, a thickness gage having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation of the welt from the outside guide part, a bracket having a guideway running parallel to the width of the welt on which the U-piece is slidable to enable adjustments for welt of different widths, a mounting block having guideways at right angles to that on the bracket, in which latter guideways, respectively, the bracket and the thickness gage are slidable to enable adjustment of the bracket and the thickness gage relative to the block, and common clamping means for the bracket and the thickness gage on the mounting block.

10. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the marginal portions of a shoe upper lasted over an insole while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle threading looper and a thread finger mounted for movement within the arcuate path of the needle at right angles to a plane defined by the needle curvature and in a direction opposite to that in which the shoe is fed to measure thread extending between the last formed stitch in the work and the looper, in combination with a welt guide located at that side of the plane of needle curvature opposite the completed stitches to engage and lead the welt with the main extent of its widthwise dimension directed approximately vertically inside the arcuate path of the needle and with the lower margin of the welt directed into alinement with the point of needle operation but with a part of the guide extending outside the needle path, closer to the plane of the needle than the remainder of the guide and acting to engage the lower edge of the welt outside the path of the needle, saidguide comprising a U-piece through which the main widthwise extent of the welt is directed said out- 15 2, 3

side guide part being formed as a projection from the U-piece and extending toward the point of needle operation for resisting the force on the welt imparted by the shoe as it is pressed against the guide during retraction of the threaded needle and a thickness gage having a flange extending between the welt and the shoe being operated upon to prevent separation of the welt from the outside guide part, said thickness gage being formed with a recess into which the projection of the U-piece fits.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morrill May 26, 1936 Murphy Oct. 7, 1947 

